Hearing that Li Yi didn't mean to implicate himself, Zhang Dake couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief and said: "Zhu Chunming is a cunning person. I have met him twice, but I am not familiar with him."

Li Yi smiled secretly in his heart, knowing that Zhang Dake had sensed that something was wrong in the atmosphere and began to distance himself from Zhu Chunming.

He didn't say anything and let Brother Zhang come in to talk.

The two of them sat down, and naturally a maid brought them tea.

Zhang Dake looked at Li Yi and asked carefully: "Your Excellency came to Dengzhou suddenly. Did something happen in Dengzhou?"

Li Yi smiled and said: "Sir Zhang, I have been dismissed from my position as the censor of Qiandu. You call me sir, but I can't bear it."

Zhang Dake waved his hand and said: "The whole court doesn't know that Mr. Li is the emperor's confidant. Sooner or later he will be reinstated. It is appropriate for me to call you like this."

Li Yi smiled and said: "In that case, I have overstepped my bounds. To be honest with Mr. Zhang, I am here just for personal matters."

Zhang Dake was stunned when he heard this. He was so respectful to Li Yi because he thought that Li Yi came with the emperor's order to do something. Unexpectedly, after a long time of quarrel, he turned out to be just handling private matters.

Thinking of this, the respect on Zhang Dake's face faded, and his words became stiffer, saying: "Sir Li, Mr. Zhu is also the son of Duke Cheng, and his status is extraordinary. There is no way you can continue to make trouble like this in Dengzhou. I

Seeing that you are still in good spirits, please discuss it with Mr. Zhu and stop making trouble."

Li Yi was not surprised when he saw Zhang Dazhui's expression change, and said: "In this way, Mr. Zhang wants to mediate and make peace?"

Zhang Dake nodded arrogantly and said: "Master Li, to be honest, you have lost your official position. Although the emperor favors you, you cannot be rude to Mr. Zhu. I think you still want to apologize, so I will put it in the middle.

And, I think Mr. Zhu will definitely give me this face."

Li Yi was not angry, but said in a calm tone: "I'm afraid this won't work."

Zhang Dake's eyes widened and he said unhappily: "Master Li, are you still so stubborn that you have to hit the south wall before you know how to turn around?"

A smile appeared on Li Yi's face, looking at Mr. Zhang's stern look, he said softly: "It's not that I don't want to, but the Jinyi Guards know that Mr. Lu hasn't come yet, so I can't make the decision."

"Jin...Jin Yiwei?" Zhang Dake trembled and almost fell off the chair.

He picked up the tea with trembling hands, trying to calm down his shock, but because he was too scared, his hands kept shaking, and most of the tea splashed on him, without him noticing.

Li Yi saw it and smiled: "Mr. Zhang, are you cold?"

Brother Zhang nodded stiffly when he heard this and said: "A little, a little."

It's hot summer now. How can I feel cold even if I'm sweating just sitting still?

Zhu Qilong next to him couldn't help laughing.

Only then did Brother Zhang react. He put down the tea bowl with a red face, looked at Li Yi, was a little afraid, and said eagerly: "Master Li, this, this really makes you laugh. Although I have read books, but I am not a good person."

When soldiers are old, they become rough men. I hope you will forgive me for what I just offended."

Li Yi has no intention of blaming Zhang Dake. This person will be his important chess piece next. If he is scared silly now, it will be more gain than loss.

"Come here, give Mr. Zhang another cup of tea." Li Yi said loudly.

Hearing these words, Brother Zhang's tense expression relaxed slightly. He was afraid that if Li Yi served tea to see off the guests tomorrow, the Jinyiwei would raid the house and exterminate the clan, and sell his wife and daughter into the officialdom.

Taking the new tea with fear, Zhang Dake actually smiled flatteringly at the maid, which showed that he was so scared that he lost his sense of proportion.

Li Yi smiled and said: "Master Zhang, you are the chief military officer of Dengzhou. I am afraid that you and Zhu Chunming have a close personal relationship on weekdays, right?"

Zhang Dake shook his head quickly and said with a pitiful face: "Sir, you are just listening to what those people are talking about. Zhu Chunming and I have only met each other and have no personal relationship at all."

Li Yi smiled and said: "That's right. The military attache in the important town has a good relationship with the court nobles. If the emperor finds out about this, I'm afraid..."

Li Yi said nothing, but Zhang Dake shivered.

He looked at Li Yi and said cautiously: "Sir, from now on I will follow your lead. As long as you have instructions, I, Zhang Dake, will do it for you even if I go through fire and water."

This is to show loyalty and hope that I can protect him once.

Li Yi understood in his heart, thought for a while and said: "Jin Yiwei is here to thoroughly investigate the case of Zhu Chunming's collusion with the traitors. This matter is of great concern. Please be careful to help and don't spread the news."

Collaborating with rebels is a serious crime of confiscating a family and exterminating a clan. Brother Zhang was so scared that he dared not say anything. He shook his head and said: "I will never say it, I will never say it."

At this time, a figure walked by the door. Li Yi understood, stood up and said: "Master Zhang, come with me to meet someone."

Zhang Dake quickly followed and stood behind Li Yi, not daring to be a little presumptuous.

The two entered the dungeon, and the smell of blood was very pungent. Brother Zhang was a warrior and was not afraid. He looked into the depths and saw a man covered in blood being tied up and muttering something in his mouth.

Li Yi looked at Xu Caihou next to him. Xu Caihou nodded, scooped up some salt water with a ladle, and suddenly poured it on Ma San.

Zhang San's body was covered with wounds, and when exposed to salt water, the pain was amplified tenfold. His whole body twitched violently, and his mouth made sounds like wild beasts.

Zhang Dake fought on the battlefield, always striving to kill with one blow. He had never seen such a torture method before, and he couldn't help but feel fear in his heart, and he shrank into a ball.

Li Yi asked Zhang Dake: "Mr. Zhang, do you recognize him?"

Zhang Dake said: "It seems to be Ma San, Zhu Chunming's personal attendant."

Li Yi nodded and said, "That's exactly who he is."

After speaking, he winked at Xu Caihou.

Xu Caihou stepped forward and asked Ma San, who slowly stopped twitching, "Who are you?"

Ma San said in a hoarse voice: "White Lotus Sect, White Lotus Sect."

Upon hearing the words "White Lotus Sect", Zhang Dake's body suddenly trembled.

The White Lotus Sect has the largest number of remnants in Shandong and has rebelled many times. One of his responsibilities as the commander-in-chief of Dengzhou is to wipe out the remnants of the White Lotus Sect.

"This, this, is it possible that Zhu Chunming has gone crazy and actually colluded with the White Lotus Sect?" Zhang Dake said in disbelief.

Li Yi did not answer, and took Brother Zhang out of the dungeon, saying: "Whatever this matter is, naturally we can't listen to Ma San's side of the story."

At this time, Xu Caihou also walked out and bowed: "Sir, we have investigated clearly. Ma San has a house not far from the west of the city. It is very hidden. There may be clues there."

Li Yi nodded and said: "In this case, without further delay, let's rush over and find out what's going on."

After speaking, he looked at Zhang Dake and said, "Master Zhang, can you join us?"

Zhang Dake is the chief military officer of Dengzhou and was ordered to arrest the remnants of the White Lotus Sect. If he shied away at this time, wouldn't he be showing that he was derelict in his duty and wanted to protect the rebels?

Thinking of this, Zhang Dake quickly said: "Of course I will follow."

Li Yi and Brother Zhang each took their personal guards and ran towards the west of the city.

As soon as they arrived at the manor, Zhang Dake suddenly said: "There is someone inside."

Li Yi asked the team to stop and said: "We don't have evidence now, so we can't alert the enemy."

After speaking, he said to his men: "Hide the horses and let's take a closer look."

After talking to Zhang Dake, Xu Caihou walked through a bamboo forest, dodged the guarding guards, and climbed to the top of the wall.

The three of them looked inside and saw Zhu Chunming ordering his confidants to search various rooms with an anxious look on his face.

After a while, a close confidant shouted: "Found it."

Li Yi and Zhang Dake looked at each other with more solemn expressions.

After a while, two confidants came out holding a statue of Maitreya Buddha half a man tall, and someone else took out the White Lotus Sect's scriptures.

Zhu Chunming was shocked and angry when he saw it. He did not expect that his confidants who stayed in Dengzhou actually believed in the White Lotus Sect. If Li Yi hadn't told him, he would have been kept in the dark.

After thinking about this, Zhu Chunming was very scared. As a noble, he naturally understood that the most sensitive thing about the imperial power was rebellion, and his confidants were related to the White Lotus Sect. In this way, he might also be implicated.

"You guys, crash these things into the carriage and find a place to bury them." Zhu Chunming ordered.

Naturally, his men obeyed the order, and one by one they began to throw all the things related to the White Lotus Sect into the carriage.

Li Yi jumped off the wall and returned to the bamboo forest.

Zhang Dake was panicked and said quickly: "Master Li, it seems that Zhu Chunming is really related to the White Lotus Sect. What should we do?"

Li Yi listened solemnly and said: "Master Lu from Jinyiwei has not arrived yet, so we can't scare the snake now. Master Zhang still sent to pick up the carriage and find out where Zhu Chunming transported these things. When Jinyiwei comes, we can naturally

There is an explanation.”

Zhang Dake nodded quickly when he heard this, thinking that Li Yi's method was very good.

After handling this matter, Li Yi and Zhang Dake returned to the house and waited for Lu Changfeng.

At night, Zhu Qilong said: "Sir, Mr. Lu is here. He came in through the back door."

Upon hearing this, Li Yi quickly stood up and went to greet him.

Lu Changfeng stood in the courtyard with two fully armed guards. When he saw Li Yi, a smile suddenly appeared on his face and said: "Zizheng, you are really a disaster star. Every time I see you, I become a laborer."

life."

Li Yi laughed when he heard this and said: "What the eldest brother said made the younger brother sad. This is not a matter of great importance, but it is a meritorious case. Of course, my brother, I don't want to lose my wealth to outsiders, so I can only find the eldest brother."

Lu Changfeng's smile faded when he heard this, and he whispered: "The emperor attaches great importance to this matter. You have to investigate clearly and don't make any mistakes."

Li Yi pointed at Zhang Dake behind him and said: "Brother Lu, this is Zhang Dake, the chief military officer of Dengzhou."

Zhang Dake hurriedly saluted and said, "Master Lu, you have had a hard journey."

Lu Changfeng looked at Li Yi, and when he saw Li Yi nodded slightly, he smiled and said: "The emperor's life is with you, so it doesn't matter if you work hard."

Zhang Dake said: "Master Lu, you came at the right time today. Master Li and I discovered something incredible again today."

Hearing this, Lu Changfeng narrowed his eyes and asked, "What's going on?"
To be continued...